Tornado Risk in Franklin County, ID
Franklin County's tornado history, by the numbers
3 tornado tracks have crossed Franklin County since 1982 by NOAA's count, roughly one every 25.6 years - the Minimal band on this site's scale. That is the 11th percentile nationally for tornado frequency. Idaho has 44 counties in this dataset; Franklin County ranks 26 of them by frequency.
The number that matters more than frequency
No violent (EF4-5) tornado has been recorded in Franklin County in NOAA's 76-year database. Of its 3 recorded tracks, 3 were weak (EF0-1) and 0 significant (EF2-3).
Shelter and safe-room economics
Idaho does not currently have a confirmed state rebate layered on top of FEMA's 75% Hazard Mitigation cost-share, so a Franklin County homeowner should expect the full national range: $2,890-$13,280, $7,645 typical.
Power after the storm, not just shelter during it
15,638 people live in Franklin County, and a tornado outbreak's power loss usually reaches far more of Idaho than the tracks themselves touch. A portable battery unit is the faster, no-fuel way to bridge that outage.
What Franklin County's figure does not tell you
Franklin County's figure is county-wide, not address-specific. Franklin County covers about 663 square miles, so a single touch here counts the same as a single touch in a county a fraction of that size. NOAA also documents that older records undercount weaker tornadoes from before Doppler radar became standard. Franklin County has about 15,638 residents.